


Blackbird, Bright Thing

by machiavelli



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, F/M, I blame my teenage twilight obsession, I mean this being said I will still try to keep the characterisation, Massive urge to read a vampire fic hence this, Mystery, Possessive Behavior, Sexual Tension, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, have just stolen bits from the VK world, this is majorly AU - you don't need familiarity with either of the fandoms, vampire!Kylo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-04 11:45:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16346099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavelli/pseuds/machiavelli
Summary: With no explanation, Rey is taken out of the orphanage just before her sixteenth birthday and accepted into the place where her parents supposedly met: an extremely prestigious, but mysterious, old boarding school in the country.She joins the Day block students, where whispered rumours about the fifty or so dazzling but enigmatic Night block students spread like wildfire - especially the black haired, sombre student president who seems to take a inexplicable interest in Rey.(I can't do synopses for shit - but it's in the tags)





	1. One

The train screeched, signalling it’s impeding halt, and Rey woke up. 

She’d fallen asleep, lulled into a light doze by the rhythmic thrumming of the wheels under her seat, purple flashes of heather on the hills running past the window slowly slipping to a hazy black as her eyes had sunk shut. To be honest, she wasn’t quite sure how she had managed it, considering the buzz of excitement that had been crowding her head all day. 

Around her, the carriage was silent and empty, all of the passengers having disembarked a long time ago. The only train to the school went once a day at ten pm, and usually only carried one or two people. The general public were already well versed in dealing with the strange boarding school at the end of the line: they wouldn’t be getting in to the school without a pass - and anyway, nobody wanted to venture this far into the forest at night. 

The train slid like a slippery eel through the thick clog of trees, their outlines obscured by the lack of light, rendering them intimidatingly giant-like. As they sped past, the shapes seemed to move along with them, like the stomp of titan feet. Coming into view was the small, quaint platform, lit by two damp, solitary street lamps and utterly devoid of people. 

_CROSS ACADEMY: INDEPENDENT BOARDING SCHOOL_ read the only sign, stamped ominously in curling black letters on a board on the side of the platform. 

Rey stretched out her shoulders a little under her thin grey hoodie and rose gingerly to her feet. She’d got on the train at London, and it had been a good six hour journey - when she’d last had her eyes open, the train had still been at least half full. At least she’d managed to sleep for most of it. Her pale face stared back at her, reflected in the darkness of the window. In the harsh light of the train, the circles underneath her eyes stood out in small purple brushstrokes. Even her usual bright hazel eyes looked dull and tired. 

She blinked the sight away as the train came to a complete stop. Already, the frigid winter air was sidling into the warmth of the carriage, curling around her and making her shiver uncomfortably. Moving hurriedly, she tugged on her thick navy wool coat and grabbed her suitcase and duffel bag off the rack. 

Stepping off the train, which promptly let out a whistle and began to chug back in the direction from which it had come (the school was the last stop on the line), she took a deep lungful of air. It was obvious she was firmly ensconced in the middle of nowhere - the air had that smoky, piney tinge to it, burning her ribs with the cold. Even her soft exhalations escaped her lips as sinewy white smoke, winding back up into the black sky and dissipating into the silver spray of stars high above. 

For a second she stood there, accompanied by all her worldly possession, taking in the strange deep silence. This was it, she thought to himself. This was the school both her mother and father had been too - she was about to walk the same hallways and grounds as they had when they were sixteen. It was just a shame she was starting in December, a good few months before the term had begun.

Oh well. Rey didn’t really care about being the new kid - she was used to quickly making (and losing) friends in the orphanage.

She stared solemly at the end of the railway tracks as the train picked up speed once again and begin to fade from sight. She’d never really seen the end of the line before - it looked strange, like someone had come along and ripped out the rest of the tracks.

The quiet of the night was broken by the sudden appearance of a small, blonde middle aged man, who seemed to pop up out of nowhere, making Rey jump. 

“Hello there! You must be Rey, if I’m not mistaken,” he gushed, taking advantage of Rey’s surprise and grabbing her hand tightly with his gloved fist, pumping it up and down enthusiastically. 

  
“I’m Charles Cross, the headmaster of the school. I know - you must be wondering - why would the headmaster _himself_ come out to greet me? _Well,_ you must realise how excited I’ve been, knowing you were coming. I was just so eager to get out here and greet the only daughter of the Skywalkers myself. I was good friends with your parents, my dear girl, and I’m just so _happy_ to finally meet you.”

Rey stood there, eyes wide, gripping onto the hand that was still shaking her own in astonishment. The man talked extremely quickly, and she was finding it difficult to place the accent - it had almost a Russian twinge?

“Pleased to meet you Sir. You knew my parents?” she managed to get out, smiling weakly. In the hazy light, Cross’ face was half obscured by the shadow of his wide brimmed hat, but Rey could still make out kind, amber eyes framed lovingly with faint crows feet, a strong nose and stubbled jaw, flecked with silver. He had the kind of face that instantly put people at ease, even if it was offset slightly by his manner. 

“Yes, yes,” he answered smoothly, finally relinquishing Rey’s hand to flap his own around dismissively. “Anyway Rey, I’m sure you must be positively freezing out here - the temperatures do drop at night this time of year. Here, let me take your bags.”

Instead of grabbing the suitcase handle like Rey had expected, Cross leaned back slightly and called out. 

“Arges?” His voice was disproportionally loud in the tiny, empty station. _Arges_? Rey wondered, confused. _What did that mean?_

She found herself staring as a large, lumpy shape materialised out of the darkness and limped its way towards them. A huge, towering man with a wild, scraggly black beard beamed down at them, and to Rey’s surprise his eyes immediately began to fill with tears.

“Oh Miss Rey!” the giant cried reverently in a rough, low voice. He took a great sniff, wiping his now wet cheeks with the stained sleeve of his olive waxed coat. Rey gulped, taken aback.

“Hello?” she tried to smile, but couldn’t stop the concern filtering into her voice. The man was still crying!

“It’s just so good to see you! I was all afraid that—“

“Arges,” the headmaster interrupted, in a friendly but stern tone. “Let’s not overwhelm the girl on her first day here, shall we?” He pushed the suitcase towards Arges. “Here, if you would be so kind to take the bags, Arges, I would be most obliged.” 

The large man seemed to pull himself together at the headmaster’s words, flashing Rey a watery grin and clasping his great thick fingers around the handle, stooping low to pick up both it, and Rey’s larger bag.

“Um, thanks,” she muttered sheepishly, wrapping her coat tighter around her torso now that her hands were free. 

“You’re welcome Miss Rey,” Arges replied gruffly, voice still thick with emotion. 

“Just Rey is fine!” Rey blurted out, blushing, holding out her palms in a plea. She almost wished she could take back the words as soon as she said them - the other man seemed to freeze for a second and she braced herself for more tears. But Arges just gave a sniffly nod in return, smiling weakly, turning and lumbering off through the mist. 

“Well, we’d better follow,” the headmaster announced brightly, giving Rey a gentle little push on the shoulder and walking ahead with an excited beam.

They walked for a minute or so, out the station and onto a little cobbled road, enough time for Rey to get completely disoriented. It was almost as if the tiredness hit her all at once, descending like a thick, warm blanket on her brain. She couldn’t stifle the yawn in time, and the headmaster gave her a sympathetic look. 

“Not long now, Rey,” he said kindly, eyes riveted on the swaying gilt of Arges, up ahead, who had stopped. Rey heard the distinctive sound of the car boot opening and closing, and all of a sudden the forest around them was lit up with the cat-like gaze of a pair of head lights. Rey gave the other man a small smile, knowing full well that by this point her eyes were probably all but half lidded. 

The car was a large, dark green four wheeler, which would explain how it had previously blended in with their surroundings, and looked like it was mainly used for hunting trips. Blearily, Rey nodded her thanks at the giant, who was holding the door open for her, and shuffled inside the backseat. 

She must have nodded off on the ten minute drive to the school, hearing snatches of conversation between the two men in the front of the car float past her head. At one point she thought she heard them discussing her upcoming birthday, which she distantly registered as weird, but dismissed it quickly - she must have been dreaming as she dozed.

The next thing she knew, Headmaster Cross was gently shaking her awake, long ash blonde hair tickling Rey’s nose, and leading her through a door in the side of the a huge looming fortress that must have been Cross Academy. Rey was too tired to take it in properly, but still managed to shuffle blearily down a twisting path of corridors after the headmaster until they came to a stop. 

The headmaster had been chirping away in a low voice, merrily describing where they were and what all the doors were leading to - Rey gleaned that they were in the “Day” block - the boarding block containing all the students who had a ‘normal’ schedule, and that apparently a fifth of the school was contained in the “Night” block, who for whatever reason had a schedule that nocturnally mirrored the day students. 

Rey was understandably confused, but then again, how much did she really know about how weird posh boarding schools in the wild, deep country worked? 

Yawning again, she thanked the Headmaster who ruffled her hair and instructed her that breakfast was at eight am sharp, as it was a Thursday the next day. He stayed chatting for another few minutes, then left with Arges, as soon as the other man had dropped off her bags, closing the door behind him with a soft click and bidding her a quiet good night.

Rey dragged off her clothes, leaving them in a pile on the wooden floor, slipped into thick flannel PJ bottoms and fell into her warm, soft bed. 

She was asleep in minutes.

 

*

 

The next morning, Rey felt the trepidation that had been burned away by her exhaustion the previous night filter back in.

She studied himself in the mirror again, rather disparagingly. The uniform was a little outdated - white trimmed navy blazer and pleated skirt, white blouse and deep red ribbon. Her dark hair fell messily into her eyes, curling gently at the bottom of her shoulders, but at least the bags under her eyes had somewhat faded.

She’d slept unbelievably well - one of the best nights sleep she could remember having in the last five years. Maybe it was something to do with the air here? There was a freshness to the place, an alertness which Rey could sense somehow.

She sighed, raking a hand through the chestnut tendrils framing her face and closing her eyes briefly. The clock on the wall read 7.50am - she should get going.

Glancing around at her small dorm room again (she couldn’t quite get over how nice it was - yes, it was small and rather plain, but everything was of the highest quality, and more importantly, it was _hers_ and hers alone) she took a deep breath and left the room. It wasn’t that she was nervous, per say, but there was a tiny bubble of apprehension in the pit of her stomach at what was likely to be a tiring morning of fending off questions and trying (probably pretty futilely) to remember all the names. 

Following the corridor down to the end, as per Headmaster Cross’ instructions last night, she caught sight of a few other students, all hurrying in pairs or groups towards where the dining hall must be, across a small, bare courtyard. They were chattering and gesticulating, lost in conversations and yawns, and barely paid her any attention as they walked past. She squinted at the morning sunlight, pale and dusty as it fought its way out of the thick cloud cover. 

She would have to retract that previous statement: looking down she could see a she was attracting a few odd glances, and tried to give a tight-lipped but friendly smile to anyone that caught her eye. 

One of the guys was staring harder than the rest, lounging outside the door to the dining hall, arranged artfully with his back leaning against the brick wall. When Rey got close enough to see his expression, the boy jumped to his feet, waving excitedly in her direction. Rey turned around to see if there was anyone else behind. 

No, it was just her. 

The boy skipped over, beaming, platinum blonde hair gleaming, even in the winter weather. “You’re Rey right?” he asked jovially, slinging an heavy arm around her shoulders. _Right then_ , Rey thought to herself.

“Hi?” she said, hearing the confusion in her own voice. This guy reminded her slightly of the Headmaster - they had the same effervescent energy and quick amicability. And strange familiarity, she thought wryly. Maybe this was just what people were like in the country?

“I knew it. Big beautiful green eyes like that - got to be you,” he grinned, looking for a reaction.

Rey snorted, refusing to let the blush stain her cheeks. “Thanks?”

He smiled harder in response, almost in approval, herding her through the door and into the hall. Ironically, the huge room was better lit than the outside, and full with noisy students helping themselves from huge plates of fruit, croissants, oatmeal, and toast and eggs. She was relieved to see a great silver pot of coffee on each of the tables, as well. 

She let out a soft noise of amazement, taking in the sight - it was bigger than the whole orphanage! Dragging her eyes back to the boy, she paused, waiting a beat to see if he was going to give her any idea of who he was. When no such answer was forthcoming, Rey decided to take things into her own hands. 

“Sorry, I’m not quite sure who you are…?” she said politely, trailing off.

The other boy’s light blue eyes widened comically. “Of course you don’t, where are my manners?" he smiled sheepishly and stuck out a hand, which Rey took, amused at how chagrined he seemed.  "Mimir. I was just a bit caught up in meeting you - your parents are quite famous here.” 

Noticing Rey’s somewhat sad smile, he carried on quickly. “I’ve been assigned as your ‘buddy’, by the headmaster. Basically I’ll explain how things work - I’m pretty sure we’re in most of the same classes.”

Rey nodded, relieved. That would certainly make things easier. “Mimir? Is that Scandanavian?” she asked, curious despite herself. Mimir led them to a table near the front, and sat down, gesturing to a free seat.

“Yep. Named after my grandfather, who was Swedish. Ironically I’ve never even been to Sweden,” he said as he heaped food onto his plate.

Rey did the same - she hadn’t realised how hungry she was until the food was right in front of her. 

“You can call me Mims though - it’s a bit weird, I guess, but it’s what most people here call me,” he said with a wry grin, scratching the back of his head. 

Rey grinned. She liked it. “Sure,” she replied. She'd heard weirder in the orphanage.

While they’d been talking, Rey had noticed that they were attracting quite a few curious glances and stares.  Of course they were - it didn't seem like Cross Academy was in the habit of welcoming new students very often.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never write female perspectives - this is my first attempt. I also want to take things a bit more AU so I have a load more freedom to make it my own, so in essence I've just borrowed the characters and a little bit of the VK world.
> 
> Obviously have just stopped mid chapter - I'm kind of just testing this out and seeing how I feel. Will definitely continue soon - she needs to meet Ren first >:D
> 
> Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> p.s. ngl i was kinda drunk when i wrote this last night i'm sorry will probs edit at some point


	2. Two

Mimir noticed her sudden awkwardness and looked up, gaze flitting around the room and back to her. He grinned.

"Can you blame them?" he asked, nodding his head in gesture, "It's not like we get very many new joiners in the Day class - you're a novelty."

Rey took a long gulp of her coffee before shrugging her shoulders slightly, interrupted from replying by the arrival of a group of what must have been Mimir's friends. Two tall boys sat down on her left, and a girl leapt into the seat on Mimir's right, immediately leaning around him to give her a soft smile.

"Well hello!" Mimir exclaimed, clapping her on the back and flashing the rest of the group a smile, "I was wondering when you lot would bother getting out of bed."

"What's the point, when I have to be confronted with your ugly mug so early in the morning?" one of the boys grumbled teasingly, joining his friend who was busy heaping his plate full of food.

Mimir pretended to cry.

The girl rolled her eyes at the boys and took the opportunity to introduce herself to Rey, sticking her hand out with a small, friendly wave. She was pretty, almost as pale as Rey, with short blonde hair and a somewhat upturned nose that complimented her face.

"Hey, you must be Rey. Nice to meet you - I hope Mimir is looking after you properly." Her voice was quiet but warm, and her brown eyes sparkled with amusement at Mimir's exaggerated feigned offence. 

"How dare you, Remy - I've been nothing but a delight!" he said, faux-wounded, with his hand on his heart. She stuck her tongue out at him before chuckling, sharing a conspiratorial glance with Rey. 

Rey couldn't quite stifle the grin in time. "Nice to meet you."

A hand tapped her lightly on the back - it was the boy sitting directly next to her, who, now that his plate was piled high, had decided to join in the introductions. "I'm Archie," he said simply, large, doe-like eyes creasing into crescent moons.

The other boy leaned over him to stick a hand out, flashing her a toothy grin. "Rey, welcome to Cross Academy. Ollie." They both looked quite similar, but Ollie's face was leaner, freckled, and his brown hair was curly and short where Archie's was darker and longer.

Rey took the hand and shook it; it was surprisingly warm. "Thanks." 

"Rey's first class is history, so she'll be with Remy this morning - sorry guys." Mimir said teasingly, dipping a strip of buttered toast into the golden yolk of his egg. Rey suddenly remembered the croissant on her plate, and tore into it with a huge, flaky bite. She'd managed to forget how hungry she was - there hadn't been a chance to eat dinner the previous day.

"Such a shame that you're missing double maths first thing in the morning!" Ollie replied sarcastically. Rey laughed - she quite liked maths, but from the look on his face, Ollie most definitely did not. 

"I'm just  _gutted,_ " she replied sweetly, through a mouthful of pastry. Remy burst out laughing.

 

*

 

Making friends was much easier than she'd expected. She'd got on effortlessly well with Mimir, Remy, Ollie and Archie, who reminded her of some of her friends that she'd left behind back in the orphanage. She'd accepted it at the time - friendships at the orphanage were a special kind, built around the fact that they were predictably transient. Nobody had wept when she'd left, it was just the way of life there.

Mimir's group of friends all seemed pretty easy-going, and had been happy to teach Rey how things worked and show her round the campus. After History she'd been led to the Science department (a ten minute walk away - the campus was  _huge_ ); in Chemistry she'd been made to do the humiliating performance of standing at the front of the class to introduce herself, but the Biology teacher hadn't been quite so cruel. 

After dinner had ended around half seven, she'd been called to Headmaster Cross' office - a grand, circular room in a turret in the main block. It was surprisingly toasty for such an old, stony structure, which was probably due to the huge roaring fire in the corner of the room, barely hemmed in by an ornate marble fireplace. Cross was sat on a huge red armchair, wrapped up in blanket with a mug of hot chocolate, despite the ambient temperature, and had immediately poured one for her from a huge silver teapot as she entered.

Sitting down on the sofa where he gestured to, she accepted the mug gratefully, cradling it in her icy hands, and took a sip. It was surprisingly sweet and silky and she had to stop herself from gulping down the whole thing; the walk over to the main block had been pretty chilly, and it was already dark outside by the time she'd arrived. Trying to navigate the vast grounds of the school was proving surprisingly difficult, and she had yet to even catch a  _glimpse_  of the famous Night block.

The headmaster's gaze hadn't once left her since she'd entered, and he seemed to buzz with excitement, firing question after question at her about her day, how she was settling in - how she was feeling, if she was making friends.

Rey had tried to answer them all as well as she could: truth be told, she was a little overwhelmed and tired, but aside from that the day had been surprisingly easy. All her subjects had patient, supportive teachers, who had taken the time to find out what level she was at and point out some self-study she could do to catch up. Rey had been in a few advanced lessons, back at her old school, so it didn't seem like it would take too long.

She said as much to the headmaster, who clasped his hands together and leaned back in the chair.

"I'm so glad to hear things are going well. Mimir's a good boy," he beamed. Rey still wasn't quite used to seeing him with his hair down, and not tied back in a ponytail; he looked younger like this, a little softer round the edges. The blanket and hot chocolate probably helped, too.

She nodded in agreement, thinking back on the day. "He's been really lovely - they all have."

"Yes. Good." He seemed to switch track out of the blue, in what Rey was learning to be classic Headmaster Cross style. "Anyway - back to the matter at hand." He put down the mug, fixing her with a suddenly serious look. 

"Due to the sensitive nature of our student clientele-" Rey presumed he meant the insanely wealthy "Night class" - she'd been hearing stories about them from the other students all day. "-we usually ask two or three students in the year to help patrol the change over every evening for the duration of a term."

"Right..." she stretched the word out in her mouth, confused, "and you want me to-"

"Exactly!" he interrupted, jumping up a little in his seat. "I knew you'd be the right person for the job! I think it's an excellent way to get to know people and the school a bit more. Mimir has already volunteered to pair up with you."

"Oh. Ok," Rey stuttered, slightly taken aback.

The headmaster's amber eyes were lit up, shining merrily out of his tanned face. "Trust me - this is a great opportunity to really understand what Cross Academy is all about. It's usually a hotly contested position," he added knowingly. 

"Sure," Rey said simply, watching the headmaster root around in the sheaf of papers littering the coffee table in front of them. The whole room was in a kind of organised chaos - random, curiously strange artefacts littered the surfaces, arranged into neat piles which looked like they were defying gravity to stay that way.

He seemed to find what he was looking for as he withdrew a small box, wrapped up in pink ribbon, brandishing it in his fist with a small exclamation. "Ah! Here we are."

Placing her cup down on the table, Rey looked down at the small white parcel. It looked pretty non-descript - the only distinguishable feature was a card stuck on the top with a simple cursive displaying her name in blue ink.

"Sir?" she queried, taking it from him.

The headmaster nodded encouragingly. "Go on, dear, open it."

Rey tore open the wrapping paper with her fingers as neatly as she could. Inside the box there was a soft black leather pouch, with a slip of paper folded up inside, next to it. Unfolding it, Rey though it looked like a form, although the layout was confusing, and a name kept popping up as her eyes scanned the page:  _Bloody Rose_.

She didn't realise she'd said it out loud until the headmaster spoke.

"It's her name."

Rey looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "A name?" 

"Yes. Sorry - I should have explained; that's the document that goes with the gift." He gestured for her to open the black draw-skin bag.

Placing the form aside, next to her hot chocolate, Rey grasped around inside. Whatever it was was strikingly smooth, and cold to the touch. She gasped when she drew it out. Clasped in her fingers, shining in the light of the fire was a small, but sharp looking dagger.

"You're giving a student a  _weapon_?" she couldn't help blurting out.

Instead of getting angry, Cross just gave her a sad smile. "It belonged to your mother - she gave it to the school as a gift when she came back," he said gently.

Rey was astonished. "Why?"

"It's actually an incredibly well-preserved artefact - it dates back to the early 1800s we believe - the paper is the sanction by the local museum. She donated it to go on display in our history department, and it's been there for the last fifteen years or so. I thought you should have it though, I think that's what Bella would have wanted." 

She looked down, studying the dagger. It was beautiful - the hilt carved intricately out of some sort of light stone, the same strange pattern repeating on the metal sheath. Although it was small, when she drew it out, the blade glinted sharply; it looked like it could  _bite._ She resheathed it quickly, a little nervous to be waving around such a dangerous tool, enjoying the sound the metal made as it scraped smoothly against the sheath.

Rey's hands fell to her lap, clutching the knife a little tighter, already loathe to let go. "Thank you." The words came out a little shakier than she would have liked, but if he noticed the Headmaster said nothing.

"That's quite alright Rey. Anyway. You should be off - the Night class will be coming in for their lessons any minute now, and I think you've had more than enough excitement for your first day already."

He wriggled out of the blanket, folding it up, and went to the door, grabbing her thick coat from it hung listlessly on the coat rack. Rey followed him over, putting the knife back in her pocket, it's presence a comforting weight against her leg. The headmaster helped her into her coat, handing her her mittens which had been toasting over the radiator, and opened the door.

"You do know where you're going, you remember the way back?" he asked concernedly.

Rey almost rolled her eyes - she was sixteen, not eight - but it didn't stop the warmth spreading in her chest at the thought of someone worrying about her. She smiled in response, stepping out into the steps leading down to the exit. The walk wasn't too long, and it was fairly easy: a right turn outside the headmaster's quarters and straight on for a while.

"Yes. Thank you so much for this." She looked down at where the  _Bloody Rose_  was concealed in her skirt. "It- it means a lot."

Cross' eyes were misty behind the shield of his glasses, and for a moment he looked both wistful and sad. She blinked, and the look was gone. He leaned closer, out the door and into the hallway, body blocking the light for a moment. 

"One last thing," he said quietly, "I'd appreciate it if you kept the  _Bloody Rose_  to yourself. I wouldn't want to... shall we say  _alarm_  any of the other students." 

She nodded, holding back a grin. "Of course."

The headmaster dipped his his head in acknowledgement. "Good night, Rey," he called out as she headed down, steps echoing in the narrow stairway.

Outside, the sky was darker than before, the moon a soft silver hole in the sky. Cross Academy was eerily silent; it was probably nearing nine, but there were no students around, no  _people_  as far as she could see.

The headmaster lived opposite the school buildings, with the night block on the left and the day block on the right, both a good ten minute walk away. Rey didn't mind the walk, but her hands were already feeling numb through the gloves, the ice in the air biting at her nose. She stood for a moment, staring up at the sky and admiring the stars - they were so  _bright_  in the country - before she began to shiver.

She began to walk but stopped after a few steps, staring thoughtfully at the huddle of the science block in front of her.

If she wasn't mistaken, it might be quicker to just cut through, chopping her walk down by a good five minutes. The school was gated off, so it was quite safe this time of night, she was sure. 

The only slight problem might be if the Night students were having their lessons, but Rey distinctly remembered someone telling her they started at nine, and when she'd last glanced at the clock on the Headmaster's wall, it had read 8.40. And anyway - even if she bumped into them, so what? Her curiosity had been building all day, fired up the more she heard about the tall, exclusive students who only took their lessons at night.

It was all so  _weird_.

Decision made, she started off in the direction of the science block, steps bouncing. As she walked, she watched her breaths form soft white clouds with each exhalation, the sound of her boots scraping on the pavement filling her ears. It was quite nice being out and about by herself. She'd been surrounded by people all day, and although she'd loved meeting them all, she was exhausted from all of the interaction. 

The courtyard in the middle of the buildings was deserted, shadows crawling stickliy up the walls. Good - so she'd made it in time without interrupting anyone. Rey was quite pleased with herself at managing to navigate so easily on her first day: just down the alley on her right and she'd be able to see the Day block. She slipped into the narrow space between the Chemistry and Biology buildings, her view of the stars blotted out by the tall walls. All she could think about was stepping into the hot spray of the shower, and snuggling into her warm duvet. And maybe getting something to eat - she was starting to get hungry again. Maybe she could ferret out another hot chocolate?

"Excuse me?"

The voice came out of nowhere. Rey whirled around in surprise, instinctually throwing up an elbow in the direction of her attacker, the sharp movement trained into her from years of defence classes.

Somehow, her arm didn't even make it that far.

The boy who had suddenly materialised neatly side-stepped her blow, absorbing the force of her elbow easily with a open palm. His expression didn't change, even as she let out a gasp. At that, he gave a small smile, gently releasing her limb and stepping back as if to give her space. Rey skittered back on the cobblestones, heart pumping out an adrenaline-driven staccato. And, of course, because trying to attack what looked liked another student wasn't humiliating enough, her heel caught on the uneven ground, sending her tripping backwards.

The stranger was right in front of her, before she could blink, arms slipping round her shoulder and steadying her. She was still gaping like a fish out of water - where on earth had he _come_ from? Every sound travelled in a night this quiet, and she'd heard  _nothing_.

She glanced down at the pale fingers still wrapped around the tops of her arms and he quickly withdrew, shoving his hands into the pockets of his burgundy uniform. It was the same as hers, aside from the colour, although his tie was definitely different...

He must be a Night student, she realised.

"I apologise for frightening you. Are you ok?"

The boy's voice was jarringly soft, eyes unblinking as he met Rey's wide-eyed stare. It seemed to echo with something strange, and she couldn't help the little shudder than ran down her spine as she gazed up into his pale face. He was very tall, especially considering he couldn't be more than seventeen or so, and was managing to do a very good job of looming over her without even trying. 

A beat passed, before Rey realised he'd asked a question. She swallowed her embarrassment, trying for a smile and ignoring the thump of her heartbeat slowly returning to normal.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks." She could feel the heat crawling up her neck and filling her cheeks, and tried to will it down to no avail. "I'm so sorry - you caught me by surprise. I don't usually try to jump people, I promise," Rey heard herself say, as the boy's smile grew. 

"It seems I'll have to take your word for it," he replied, staring at her.

His dark hair was slightly long, curling around his ears, and framing one of the most attractive faces Rey had ever come across. High, pointed features, and dark, beautiful eyes which seemed to suck in the light. 

He huffed out a chuckle, and she realised she'd been staring, blinking away in embarrassment. 

"I'm Rey," she bulldozed through her mortification, sticking out a hand. The stranger's smile grew, and he nodded, taking her palm in a gentle grip. His skin was icy cold, although Rey wasn't surprised. The temperature was well below freezing.

"Kylo," he replied, voice deep. "Headmaster Cross let me know it was your first day as a Student Rep. Thank you for your hard work."

Rey grinned. "Well, it's my first day full stop. He just told me about patrolling - that's why I'm walking back so late."

A brief look of annoyance flitted across his face, gone so quickly Ren couldn't be sure she'd imagined it. "I see."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh i'm so excited to write the next chapter! i'm having so much fun with this fic :D
> 
> please let me know what you think - i love hearing your thoughts!!


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